The text in poem form was written by the Mallorcan poet Joan Alcover i Maspons in 1902–1903. Joan Alcover was inspired by a popular Mallorcan song about a female character ( Mallorquina ) named Balanguera . Popularly also known as Berenguera , it was also the name of numerous folk dances on the island of Mallorca as well as in Catalonia and the province of Valencia .
The musical arrangement for the poem by Alcover dates from 1926 and was written by the Catalan composer Amadeu Vives . Performances were banned during the Franco dictatorship. After this period, the song became very popular again thanks to the singer Maria del Mar Bonet .
The island government of Mallorca introduced La Balanguera as an anthem in 1996 to further manifest the island's independence. With the desire to play this anthem instead of the Spanish national anthem on official occasions with representatives of Mallorca, the Balanguera was sent to all countries of the European Union .
Lyrics and in German
La Balanguera
The balanguera
La Balanguera misteriosa,
com una aranya d'art
subtil , buida que buida sa filosa,
de nostra vida treu lo fil.
Com una parca bé cavilla
teixint la tela per demà
La Balanguera fila, fila,
la Balanguera filarà.
Girant l'ullada cap enrera
guaita les ombres de l'avior,
i de la nova primavera
sap on s'amaga la llavor.
Sap que la soca més s'enfila
com més endins pot arrelar
La Balanguera fila, fila,
la Balanguera filarà.
De tradicions i d'esperances
tix la senyera pel jovent
com qui fa un vel de noviances
amb cabelleres d'or i argent
de la infantesa qui s'enfila
de la vellura qui se'n va.
La Balanguera fila, fila,
la Balanguera filarà
The mysterious Balanguera
empties, yes, empties its distaff
like a spider in the highest art, it
pulls the thread of our life.
Like a Parze who carefully
spins the fabric for the morning,
the Balanguera spins, spins,
the Balanguera will always spin.
Looking back
, she discovers the shadows of origin -
and she knows where the germ of
the new spring is hiding.
She knows that the
deeper its roots can reach, the higher the tree trunk strives ;
the balanguera is spinning incessantly; the
balanguera will always be spinning.
From traditions and hopes
she weaves the standards of the youth
like someone who
makes a wedding veil out of threads of gold and silver .
From the childhood that joins life,
from the age it leaves
the Balanguera spins, spins,
the Balanguera will always spin.
